May 11, 2005

Sony & Toshiba Close To Agreement on Next-Generation DVD Format

Reuters: It looks like Sony and Toshiba are nearing a resolution to their market control battle for the next-generation DVD formats - Blu-ray and HD DVD. Last month, both companies were reportedly in talks to develop a common standard between the two formats, but yesterday talks to unify next-generation DVD formats were leaning toward a disc structure supported by Sony...However, according to the article, it was unclear whether and when the two sides would reach a final agreement on a common format. If and when they do though, it will be good news for the multi-billion dollar industry as it hopefully circumvents another format war like the VHS/Betamax one - which ultimately discouraged consumers from buying new hardware and stifled the industry's growth...

"The Nihon Keizai newspaper said earlier that Sony and Toshiba were in final talks eyeing a new format based on Blu-ray's disc structure and Toshiba's software for efficient data transfer and copyright protection."